Stories by the Fire, The HearthSide Edition
by Faerie in Combat Boots
Summary: Iroh and Zuko are enjoying a cup of tea on Spirit Night when the door crashes open and who should appear? The Gang! And they're ready for more! BACK IN BUSINESS!
1. Guess what Tonight is Zuko?

It's back with a Vengeance! The Halloween Advent that was so popular last year is back and scarier than ever, it's AU Now, because of the recent events in the show, but ENJOY!!! And by the way, the end of season two and season three so far? NEVER HAPPENED. It's an AU

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The New Fire Lord Zuko and his Uncle Iroh sat by the fire, sipping tea at leisure. Peace filled the four nations once again and Zuko could relax for once. His sister Azula, exiled. Mai and Ty Lee, became courtiers, but were being watched carefully. But the young Fire Lord could relax at least.

"Do you know what tonight is Zuko?" Iroh asked smiling.

"Uncle, what are you…" Zuko began but was interrupted by the door to their chamber crashing open!

"HAPPY SPIRIT'S NIGHT!"

Zuko jumped, startled by the crashing and noise and at the realization of _who_ was at the door. He turned around and saw four _very_ familiar faces.

Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph and Momo were in his doorway, carrying cakes, nuts, and an endless array of sweets.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, wiping spilled tea off his lap.

"It was Spirit Night so we figured we'd all hop on Appa and pay you a visit! Isn't it great!?" Aang chirped.

"Iroh said to…"

"Uncle! You knew about this?" Zuko snapped, turning to face his uncle, who was acting innocent and sipping his tea.

"Uncle!"

"I wanted it to be a surprise…" Iroh said putting his empty cup down.

"But I thought since we spent Spirit Night together last year, we could make it a tradition,"

"We're all for it," Toph said smiling.

"Yeah, Zuko, we all had such a great time last year!" Katara added, flashing him a charming smile.

Zuko felt his cheeks warm, and thought of last year. He agreed and had a servant fetch more cushions for his guests to sit on.

"All right," Iroh said, rubbing his hands together.

"Shall I begin?"


	2. Ruri's Bridge

**The story I'm about to tell you is an old Vermont ghost story and a favorite of mine.**

* * *

The fire in the hearth crackled merrily while everyone huddled together in a circle. Sokka was cracking nuts in his teeth.

"What will the first story going to be about this year? Monsters? Ghouls? The Legions of the un-dead?" he asked.

Iroh shook his head.

"No, it's about a certain part of The Earth Kingdom, called The Green Mountains. It's very agricultural, with beautiful scenery." Iroh began.

"My family has a summer home there." Toph said.

"It feels gorgeous."

"It's also home to the covered bridges. These bridges have roofs over them, like on a house and can only be found in The Green Mountains. One of these bridges, is where my story takes place. The story of Ruri's Bridge."

_"Ruri was a young woman who lived in the Green Mountains in a pastoral little village. She was very beautiful and while she had many admirers, she desired only one man. His name is lost to history, but it's well known that he was a low life and her parents did not approve of him._

_Her parents forbid her from seeing him, but she didn't listen and decided to elope with this man and run away. Ruri severed ties with her family completely and the lovers agreed to meet at the Gold Brook Bridge, one of many in The Green Mountains, but the only one in her village. They were to meet precisely at midnight._

_Ruri arrived at the bridge on a cool night in early spring, waiting patiently for her love to come and take her away from her small village and meddling parents. She shivered in the evening air, but didn't let it bother her, she was so excited._

_Midnight came and went, but her lover never came. Why it is not known, but he never arrived. Poor Ruri began to despair. She abandoned her family and ruined her honor, only to be jilted by the man she loved._

_She began to panic now, to lose her mind. She couldn't go back to her family and she couldn't bear the thought of being without the man she had given up her honor for._

_Sobbing, she tied a rope to a beam running down the middle of the covered bridge and hung herself._

_From that day on, her angry spirit has haunted the bridge. A woman's voice is heard, calling for her lover and sobbing. Claw marks show up on the sides of carriages and coaches, leaving gashes in the sides of animals, people have been scratched by the angry spirit. Strange shadows and lights can be seen and sometimes Ruri herself is seen._

_Some say that Ruri is just a tall tale, that she never existed. But I believe she is real, for I have seen the lonely sobbing figure of a woman on Ruri's Bridge, on cool moonless spring nights."_

Iroh finished his tale.

"In the version I heard, was that her lover killed her," Toph mused.

"Still, it's such a sad story," Katara sniffed.

"Wait a minute!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Where'd Ruri find the rope to hang herself?"

"Who knows?" Iroh shrugged.

"It's a story that's been handed down from generation to generation. The information on how she obtained the rope is lost to us all. And anyway, when have ghost stories made any sense?"


	3. The Ghostly Hitchiker, Avatar Style!

**Guess who tells the Avatar Version of a classic ghost story? I think I rushed this one.**

* * *

"Can I tell the next story?" a cheerful voice asked.

Everyone turned and found Ty Lee and Mai standing in the open doorway. Ty Lee was grinning, dressed in a gaudy bright orange kimono trimmed in black, Mai stood by her side with her usual bored expression, in her usual black garments, pretending not to notice how handsome Zuko looked in the firelight.

"I'd forgotten it was Spirit Night!" she chirped, inviting herself and Mai to sit beside Sokka.

"Hi cutie…"

Everyone inwardly groaned at the thought of Azula's former friends joining them for the night, but Aang smiled and said:

"Everyone is welcome to join us!"

"I didn't know you knew any scary stories Miss Ty Lee," Iroh said handing her and Mai cups of tea.

"Which story will you tell?"

"The one about the girl who hitches a ride," Ty Lee said in a silly, spooky voice.

_"A young man was going home from a market place far from his village. It was a rainy stormy night, but luckily, his wagon was covered, so he wouldn't get wet._

_While he traveled, he saw standing by the side of the road a pretty girl wearing a drenched red yukata. He black hair was plastered to her head and she was pale as bone, but she was very pretty. He stopped his carriage and asked: "Do you need a ride, miss?"_

_"Oh yes, thank you very much," she said._

_He helped her up into the wagon and sat her beside him._

_"Where do you live?" he asked._

_"I live in the village nearby. I'm on my way home from a party." She said._

_The young man noticed the girl was shivering and offered her his cloak. She accepted it graciously._ _After that, they didn't talk to each other, because the young man was trying to concentrate on the muddy road._

_Finally they made it to her house, and when he turned to her to tell her so, he found that she was gone! He went to the door of the house and knocked. A very careworn woman answered the door. When he told her what had happened she looked upset and called for her husband. He came invited the young man in and_ _took led him to a little altar._

_"This has happened before," he explained._

_"What do you mean?" The Young Man asked._

_"The girl you gave a ride to is my daughter. She has been dead for five years. She was coming home from a party when she was struck by lightening and killed. Now her spirit is trying to come home," the man said sadly._

_"Here is her portrait."_

_The girl's father showed him an ink portrait of the same small girl who the young man had given a ride to._

_The couple let him stay they night. In the morning, they took him to the cemetery where their daughter was buried. Folded on her grave was his cloak."_

"Ah, an old classic. They were telling that story in my time," Iroh sighed.

"I never knew you could tell stories."

"I learned lots of them when I was in the circus," Ty Lee said.

"I learned lots of things in the circus." She purred, winking at Sokka.

Sokka gulped and stood up, and dashed over to the fireplace.

"I think I am telling the next story,"


	4. The Ghost of Queen Kiku

**This story is based off of the Haunting of Hampton Court Palace by Henry VIII's fifth wife. And yes, Hsin is an Asian name. Sorry I have to update two or three at a time, I have been tired.**

* * *

Sokka wasn't sure what story he wanted to tell. He just wanted to get away from Ty Lee and her ridiculous innuendoes. But now that he said he wanted to tell a story, he was stuck doing it.

"What kind of story are you going to tell, Sokka?" Katara asked.

"One from home or one of the ones we learned while traveling?"

"I'm actually thinking of telling a story the Earth King told me. A true story about his palace in Ba Sing Se."

"How does he know it's true?" Mai muttered.

"Shush Mai, let Cutie Pie tell his story!" Ty Lee scolded.

"Go on, Honey Bear!"

"Um thanks, Ty Lee," Sokka, said, feeling an incredible urge to vomit. He was never one for pet names (with the exception of Foo Foo Cuddly Poops) In his peripheral vision, he could see Toph making a gagging motion with her finger and mouth.

_"A long time ago, there was an Earth King named Hsin, and he had five wives, at the same time, because then, Kings could have multiple wives and mistresses if they so desired. The youngest of his wives was a girl named Kiku. She had long silky dark brown hair and emerald green eyes. She was petite and very pretty. The King called her "A rose without a thorn,". He thought she was perfect. But Kiku was not perfect at all. The truth was, she was having an affair with a young handsome courtier. The fat old King had no idea and she was sure she would get away with it._

_One day, the King heard from an angry relative of hers (Who was peeved that she was bestowing everyone but themselves with royal favors), that Queen Kiku was not a virgin when she married the king. This of course made the king very angry!"_

"I'm confused," Aang interrupted.

"Why would the king be angry, and what do you mean by 'not a virgin,?"

Everybody looked around at anyone but Aang, some of them (like Katara) were blushing, while others (like Ty Lee) were stifling giggles and others (Iroh and Zuko) were pretending they hadn't heard the question.

"Let me explain it to you later Aang," Sokka replied.

"Much Later,"

_"He was already furious, but things were made worse when a trusted advisor entered his chamber bearing several scrolls of parchment. The scrolls of parchment were intercepted love letters addressed to Queen Kiku. They were from her lover. As soon as the king read these damning letters, he had Queen_ _Kiku arrested for treason against the King._

_When they guards and the King's Head Advisor came to arrest Kiku, she panicked. She protested her innocence and threw herself at The Advisors feet, but they restrained her and tried to take her to the dungeons. She went hysterical and escaped them._

_Kiku ran down the corridors screaming bloody murder, trying to evade the guards. She ran to the King's private temple, where she knew the King was praying. She pounded on the doors screaming for mercy, but the king ignored her cries. Soon she collapsed to the ground in a faint, her eyes rolling wildly, her mouth foaming in hysteria. Then the guards dragged her away and took her to the dungeon._

_Two days later, Kiku was beheaded for her crimes. It is said that the night before, she had asked for the block to be brought to her cell so she could practice laying her head down._

_The very next night, King Hsin held a feast. Some thought it was tasteless to do so after his Queen's execution but no one would have dared to say so._

_As he feasted, he stared at her empty place at the high table. It was strange_ _for him to not see her in her elaborate silk robes and jewels, laughing over her wine and enjoying the meal._

_As he thought this, he thought he could hear screaming. He brushed it off at_ _first, but soon, the screaming got louder and louder until it was right in his ear. He asked everyone around him if they could hear it, but no one else could. Then he heard a soft gurgling. He looked at her empty place and saw Kiku herself! She was wearing her silk robes and jewels, but her head sat in her_ _lap, oozing scarlet blood, and blood gushed from the stump of her neck._

_"Get away from me, demon!" he screamed pointing at her. Everyone saw their king screaming at an empty chair._

_"Your majesty," one of his other wives asked gently._

_"Are you all right?"_

_"Do you not see Kiku?" he asked, in distress._

_"Do you not see her in her seat?"_

_No one could say that they could see her, so the embarrassed old king retired for the evening and took_ _to his bed._

_For the next few days, Kiku's ghost could be heard screaming up and down the corridors where she had spent her last horrific night in the palace. Some_ _courtiers could now see her ghost, running along the corridors screaming and sobbing hysterically. Then, after a week, she disappeared._

_One year later, she returned around the time of her execution to haunt the king, screaming in the corridors and leaving cold spots that never warmed. The smell of her perfume mixed with blood could be smelled wherever the_ _King went. She would return every year around the date of her execution, long after King Hsin's death. She still returns to this day."_

"Good story Sokka," Aang said.

"I didn't know that one,"

"I did," Toph said.

"Everyone who lives in the Earth Kingdom knows it, that doesn't make it any less creepy though,"

"Do you have any spirits like that in the Fire Nation palace, Zuko?" Katara asked, scooting closer to him.

"We do," Zuko replied.

"I saw her once. Let me tell you the story,"


	5. Fire Lady Ai's Revenge

This is based off of the story of Anne Boleyn

* * *

Zuko cleared his throat and began his story:

"_Long before Fire Lord Sozin's reign there was Fire Lord Jiro. His first wife had failed to give him a son so she was exiled."_

"How cruel!" Katara exclaimed. Zuko did not scold her for her interruption as he did last year, but said:

"Yes it was, but that's how it was then. We no longer practice that tradition,"

"Good, I'm glad," Katara smiled, moving closer to Zuko.

Mai glared daggers at Katara. She had been in love with Zuko for a long time, and had become very territorial of him. How dare this little water wench move in on him!

_"Jiro had taken a second wife, named Ai. Ai had black hair so long she could sit on it and brown eyes so dark they were nearly black. But she had a terrible secret. She had a sixth finger, which she hid with long sleeves. She also had a large birthmark which she hid with a choker she wore constantly."_

"So, tell me Katara, do you wear that ugly necklace to hide a birthmark?" Mai asked poisonously. She had learned a thing or two from Azula.

Everyone went silent. Toph's strong fist was raised and poised and Sokka had was ready to forget the "Never Hit a Woman Rule,".

Tears sprang to Katara's eyes and she turned red.

"How dare you this Necklace belonged to my dead mother!" she said her voice dripping with icicles.

"She wears that necklace in her mother's honor, Mai. How dare you insult my guest and friend this way. I am highly disappointed in you," Zuko said coldly.

Mai looked away, filled with shame.

"_Many suspected that Ai was a witch, and had used her magic to trick Jiro into marrying her. But no one dared say such a thing, for fear of punishment. Fire Lord Jiro loved Ai, despite the fact she was a jealous and hot-tempered woman._

_But after a few years, and Ai still had not given Jiro a son, he began to tire of her. His patience for her grew thin and in addition to this, he had fallen in love with a Lady in Waiting named Little Orchid Blossom._

_So, not wanting to deal with the difficulty of a banishment, he accused Ai of witchcraft and adultery. He said with her many lovers, she had conspired a plan to kill him and take the throne for herself. _

_Her only crime was being of bad character, but since he was the Fire Lord, nobody could dispute him. So in late spring she was beheaded. It is said that when the executioner lifted her head to crowd, her eyes moved around wildly and her mouth moved._

_But that was not the last of Fire Lady Ai. Her ghost haunted the palace from then on. She was seen walking the courtyard, her head tucked under her arm. She could be heard singing, cackling and screaming. Sometimes she would stand over the Fire Lord's bed and weep piteously._

_Jiro would sent monks to purify the palace. It worked and he thought the haunting was over. To add to his joy, his New Fire Lady, Little Orchid Blossom was with child._

_Months later, before the birth Little Orchid Blossom went into confinement, a common practice among Noble Fire Nation women. During this time, Ai's ghost returned. She would haunt Little Orchid Blossom's chambers, screaming and laughing, pinching the poor girl black and blue._

_Finally in Autumn, Little Orchid Blossom went into labor. It was already a hard labor for the girl, but made harder by the fact that Ai's ghost stood menacingly at the foot of the birthing cot, where she herself had had her daughter three years ago, when she lived. She pointed at the agonized girl, cackling as if she knew something the girl did not. Then just before the baby came, she disappeared, with a howl._

_The baby was a boy. Fire Lord Jiro was overjoyed. Finally, a son! Before the baby's Naming Ceremony, however, Ai appeared to him and said:_

"_You think you have won, but the suffering has only begun," Before fading away and cackling._

_Little Orchid Blossom had contracted Childbed Fever shortly giving birth. The Royal Doctors and Midwives tried everything but she didn't get any better. She died, twelve days after giving birth. The moment she died, Ai could be heard laughing in the room. _

_Afterwards, Jiro was cursed. He became a fat and sickly old man, who could not find another wife. Ten years after Ai's execution he died, lonely and bitter. His son, his heir, ruled very shortly, but died of plague. The daughter of his first wife became Fire Lady, but died childless. Ai's daughter became Fire Lady by default. Fire Lady Ai had her revenge._

_But to this day, she appears to members of the Royal Family, during a tragedy. I saw her myself, after my mother disappeared into the night."_

"Was she laughing at you?" Aang asked.

"No," Zuko said softly.

"She looked like she was sorry,"


	6. The Beloved Ostrich Horse

"Okay, enough history lessons, time for a real scary story," Toph said, standing.

"Those were pretty scary," Katara said.

"Can you imagine if Ai showed up tonight?"

Toph laughed and waved a hand in front of her sightless eyes.

"I won't be able to see her anyway! Let her come!" she said.

"Now let me tell you a good scary story,"

"_There was a man who had an ostrich horse named Sakura. He raised it from a foal and he and the horse were very close. He couldn't imagine hurting her, nor could he imagine Sakura hurting him._

_One evening, he attended a carnival…"_

"What does that have to do with his ostrich horse?" Sokka asked.

"Shut up Sokka, I'm building the story," Toph said flinging a walnut size rock at his head (She always kept rocks in her pockets, solely for punishing Sokka).

_"At the carnival, there was a fortune teller. He went to see her, not taking her very seriously. She sat in her black silk tent, draped in fancy robes, covered in make up, stinking of incense and heavy perfume. He was sure she was a fake…"_

"LIKE MADAM WU" Sokka interjected.

"Shut up Sokka!" Both Katara and Toph shot back.

_"But he went anyway, just for fun. He sat on a silk cushion and she threw bones in the fire. When the bones cracked she took them out and read them._

_"Your untimely death will be caused by your most beloved companion…," She said in a hoarse voice. _

_"Your ostrich horse, Sakura,"  
The Man was shocked. He had not told her of Sakura. He was deeply shaken and left the carnival as soon as he could._

_For days he refused to go near Sakura. When his wife asked him why, he told her what the fortune teller had said. She laughed and said that was impossible, gentle Sakura wouldn't hurt anything, except some feed._

_But his wife's did not soothe the man and he was still sure that Sakura would be the death of him. So, he sold her to a farmer, explaining that he needed a stronger horse and that Sakura would be a great horse, for the farmer's children to ride._

_Years passed, and the man began to miss Sakura. Sure that he was safe from the curse now that he no longer owned her, he went to see the farmer._

_"I'd like to see my old ostrich horse Sakura, see how she is doing," He said._

_"Oh, I am terribly sorry, but Sakura died awhile ago. She was old and sick and her heart gave out. But she was a good animal, my children loved her," The farmer said sadly._

"_But her bones are out in that field if you'd like to see them,"_

_The man agreed to go, seeing that as now Sakura was dead she couldn't do him any harm, any she was a grand old animal._

_The bones were bleached white by the sunshine. The Man smiled, remembering his old friend. He reached down and fondly patted her skull. Just then, a poisonous snake that had made it's home in her skull came out of the eye socket and bit him, killing him instantly. Sakura had caused his death, just as the fortune teller had predicted."_

Toph sat down and helped herself to a cake.

"Alright, who thinks they can do better?" Toph smirked?


	7. Morning Prayers at the Temple

I don't like this one, but an update is an update. I need help finding stories!

* * *

"I think I could," Aang said standing up.

"Oh really Twinkle-toes?" Toph sneered.

"Let's hear it,"

"_There was a young woman named Sachiko. Every morning she went to the temple where she attended The Morning Prayers. She usually heard the gong while she was eating her breakfast._

_One morning however, she heard the gong while she was still in bed. Convinced she was running late, she dressed quickly and threw her cloak on, not bothering to eat breakfast. It was still dark, but it was winter, so she didn't think anything of it. She rushed to the temple. She was alone in the street, so she figured everyone was there already. _

_When she got to the temple she snuck in hoping she wouldn't be noticed. She knelt down and started to recite her prayers._

_But something was wrong. She didn't recognize anyone there. She looked around, confused until she saw a familiar face, her friend Ling! But Ling had been dead for two months now! She slowly looked around. Everyone there was dead! Some were still rotting corpses, others were skeletons. There must be a special Prayer Service for the dead, every morning before dawn! She realized with horror._

_"You should not be here," Ling whispered to her._

"_Many are angry at your intrusion and they mean to hurt you." _

_Sachiko looked around and saw all the corpses glaring at her and snarling._

"_Run now, Sachiko," Ling urged._

_Sachiko bolted out of the temple, the crowd of corpses following, they shrieked at her and tried to grab her._

_One skeleton had grabbed her cloak and ripped it away from her, but she escaped unharmed. She ran as far from the temple as she could all the way home._

_Later that day her friends found her cloak in the temple, ripped to shreds."_

"Not very scary Aang," Toph yawned.

"I could take on those corpses with my earthbending,"

"Well, Sachiko wasn't any kind of bender," Aang reasoned.

"Katara, will you tell the next one?"

Katara looked up from her cup of tea.

"Yes, Aang, I think I will tell one." She smiled.


	8. The Toe

**Sorry lovelies, I'm not too good at updating anymore!**

* * *

"What kind of story are you gonna tell?" Sokka asked his little sister, as he handed Toph some sliced fruit.

"Remember the story Toph told last year? About the Boy who stole a corpse's liver?" Katara began, with a wry smile.

"Yeah," Toph sighed.

"Good times scaring Boomerang Boy,"

"I was not scared!" Sokka said indignantly.

"You were," Toph retorted.

"Enough! Enough bickering!" Iroh said jovially, wagging his finger at Toph and Sokka.

"I swear, the two of you will end up married one day!"

Everyone laughed, while Toph blushed and Sokka stammered pointlessly at Iroh.

Mai could hear Ty Lee mutter under her breath: "Not if I marry him first,"

"Well," Katara continued, once the laughter had died down.

"In the Water Tribe we have a similar story, called 'The Toe'. I thought it was so gross!"

_"A young boy was practicing spear throwing when he noticed something strange. Sticking out of the ice was a human toe! He took out his knife, and cut it out of the ice, once it came off in his hand, he thought he heard something groan. He packed it in snow and brought it to his mother._

_"It looks nice and plump," she said smiling._

"_Let's cook it up for supper,"_

"Disgusting," Mai muttered.

"_So she cooked it up in a soup. There was a famine at the time and any kind of meat would do. At supper, they ate the soup and the mother cut the toe into three pieces and the boy and his parents each enjoyed a large piece of the toe,"_

Both Ty Lee and Mai made disgusted sounds, similar to gagging.

"_Later that night, as the boy tried to sleep he could hear someone groaning softly: "Who has my toe…who has my toe…" He thought he was dreaming but the groaning grew louder: "who has my toe…who has my toe!"._

_Now the boy was frightened. He heard someone outside their hut, a dragging noise._

_"Who has my toe? Who has my toe?" The thing was in the tent standing over the boy._

_"Who has my toe?" The thing looked the boy directly in the eye, with his yellow bloodshot eyes, opened his mouth and said:_

"_YOU HAVE IT!"_

Katara yelled that last line as loud as she could and in the process jumped on Zuko, knocking him over.

"What was that for!?" He asked, his face red. She was sprawled on top of him, smiling, equally as flushed as he was.

"That's how you tell the story, at that particular line, you're supposed to jump on someone and tackle them!" She laughed.

"Isn't that right, Sokka?"

"Yeah." He said glaring at Zuko, who had surreptitiously placed his hands around Katara's waist.

"But you usually climb off the person immediately after tackling them,"

And with that he pulled his sister off the Young Fire Lord and sat her down, fully intending upon lecturing her later, as big brothers are wont to do.

"So who hasn't told a story yet?" Aang asked, trying to choke down how jealous he was of Zuko at that moment.

"Mai hasn't!" Ty Lee chirped.

All eyes turned to Mai, who had turned rather ashy in complexion and looked like she was going to be ill.


	9. The Muddy Robe

**-Who knew Mai enjoyed telling stories? BTW I am having some personal problems which is why I can't update I'm so sorry!**

* * *

"I don't know any stories," Mai muttered, her lips tight.

"Of course you do," Zuko said.

"Don't you remember how you would frighten Azula with your scary stories, you were the only one who could scare her,"

"Except for your story about the Two Sisters, my Nephew" Iroh added.

Mai flushed pink, at Zuko's compliment.

"Alright, I'll tell one," she sighed.

_"A long time ago, a woman named Kaede was named godchild to her best friend's daughter Rini. She was overjoyed at such an honor and loved they child very much._

_However, when Rini was eighteen she died in a horrific accident,"_

"What kind of accident was it?" Aang interrupted.

"It doesn't matter," Mai said, in her usual deadpan.

"The point is that she died"

_"Kaede tried to cope, but on Spirit's Night she had a strange dream. She dreamt that Rini had come to her and asked for a fine robe to wear to The Spirit's Night Procession, that the dead held each year. She explained that the kimono she had been buried in was too plain for such a procession and asked that Kaede lay the robe on the futon in the room where she slept whenever she had visited. _

_Kaede woke with a start and thought about what to do. She decided it was a dream and she had better ignore it. But when she slept again, Rini reappeared in her dream. She asked again for a robe._

_Kaede woke again and was so worried she wok her husband for advice. He told her not to worry, that it was just a dream._

_But Kaede was very upset about the dream. To ease her nerves, she took one of her finest robes and laid it out in the guest room where her godchild used to sleep, then she returned to bed._

_Early in the morning before she woke, Rini appeared in a final dream. She apologized, explaining that it had rained during the procession and she slipped and had gotten the robe very wet and muddy._

_Kaede woke and climbed out of bed. She kept thinking about the final dream and rushed into the guest bedroom. There on the futon lay her robe. At first she was sure it was untouched, but when she picked it up she saw that was wet and covered in mud. Sure enough it looked like someone had worn the dress in the rain,"_

Everyone sat silently after Mai finished.

"I guess your stories aren't as scary as they were when we were younger," Zuko finally said.


	10. The Roommate, Avatar Style

Mai's face crumpled in disappointment. She was sure Zuko would still find her stories amusing. It couldn't be her fault. No, it was that Water Tribe girl. She had bewitched Zuko with her strange stories from the South Pole…or maybe he was right. They all grew up and everything changed.

"I know a story scarier than that!" Toph said with a light cackle.

"I over heard the maids tell it once,"

"_Two young women shared a small apartment in Ba Sing Se. One of them worked late night at a Tea Shop,"_

Iroh grinned, remembering how much he enjoyed working at the teashop.

_"One night she came home very late. The Apartment was pitch black, but she didn't light a candle, not wanting to disturb her sleeping roommate. She could hear strange noises coming from her roommates bed, but ignored it figuring that her friend had a companion for the night,"_

"What does that mean?" Aang asked.

"What were her and her companion doing that would make so much noise?"

Everyone coughed and looked around at anything but Aang.

Toph, who had eavesdropped on the servants and thus knew all about the particular subject replied to him:

"Aang, if you don't know I am not going to tell you"

The Avatar looked bewildered and a little peeved that Toph was withholding information.

_"Not wanting to interrupt and too tried to care, the girl tried to sleep. Eventually the noises went away and she fell asleep. _

_In the morning, the girl woke to a horror. There was her roommate, lying in her bed, decapitated, lying in a pool of sticky congealing blood. Written in blood on the wall were the words: "Aren't you glad you didn't light a candle?"_

"That was pretty good," Zuko said.

"I'd never heard that story before."

"Can someone tell me what the girl thought her roommate was doing!" Aang exclaimed, his face red.

"Tomorrow," Iroh said.

"I will explain everything you need to know, but for now I am telling a story,"


	11. In the Arms of the Statue

**I know it is almost halloween and I did not have the normal amount. My family is going through some trials. My Grandmother has cancer and I simply do not have the time to update. I will try to write a separate fic as a gift for you all.**

* * *

"I want to tell a story!" Aang exclaimed. He wanted shrug off the awkwardness of the conversation.

"It's Kuzon told me a long time ago,"

"_Years ago a beautiful young woman was engaged to a man she loved very much. They were set to marry but he left her at the marriage altar. Shortly after, she became ill and died. Her family buried her and gave her a lavish headstone with the statue of her, sitting her hands outstretched to passerby._

_Years passed and people began to believe the grave was haunted. Teenagers started to dare each other to sit in the statue's lap as an initiation rite. 50 years after the jilted woman's death, a girl was dared to sit in the statue's lap, as man other's had been._

_What no one knew however, was that the girl was direct descendant of the man the dead woman's betrothed!_

_The girl entered the cemetery nervous, but confident that nothing would happen to her. She had not heard the story about her great-grandfather leaving a woman at the altar._

_The next morning, when the girl did not return home her family began to worry. They went to the graveyard to find her and find her they did. There she lay in the arms of the statue, dead. She was covered in bruises as if someone had squeezed the very life out of her. Some say, that the dead woman had known who the girl was descended from and had extracted revenge."_

"Wait how did the ghost know the girl was descended from her betrothed?" Katara asked.

"Spirits pretty much know everything that is going on in our world. They watch everything we do," Aang explained.

Sokka turned a bright cherry shade and gulped.

"Everything?"


	12. The Meat Thief

"I think I will tell the next one," Katara said trying not to think about what her brother didn't want the spirits to see.

"It's a story Gran-Gran used to tell us,"

"_A man began to notice that something or someone was stealing from his smoke house. It was taking Jerky and smoked fish and his famous cured Artic Moose Hams. Pretty soon he would have no meat in his smoke-house,"_

"Master Sokka, why ever do you look so frightened? Nothing scary has happened yet!" Iroh chuckled.

Sokka, whose face had turned ashy and pale replied:

"Are you kidding? This part is so frightening! All that meat! Gone!"

"Calm down Sokka," Toph said flinging on of her Torture Sokka rocks.

"Yeah, Sokka," Aang said.

"Let Katara finish,"

_"So the man decided to set up a watch so he could figure out what was going on. The first two nights he fell asleep, and woke in the morning to find more meat missing. Wanting to help, his wife came to him with some help. She gave him a special brew that would keep him awake,"_

"Was it tea?" Iroh asked with a grin.

"I'm not sure," Katara said softly.

"All I know was that it was special. It could have been tea,"

"Enough tea talk Uncle," Zuko snapped.

"I would like to hear the end of Katara's story,"

Katara blushed as Zuko nodded for her to continue. Mai's face was now the color of slightly moldy porridge, for she was sick with envy. Why didn't Zuko want to hear her stories as much!

_"So he drank the brew and found he was more awake and alert than ever. So he sat with his boomerang…"_

Katara paused to take in her brother's pleased expression, at the mention of a boomerang. By Tui and La, she was sure he had an unhealthy obsession with boomerangs.

_"Pretty soon, he saw a large Ice Panther climb up the top of his smoke-house, and slip in through the hole where the smoke came out, slippery as a fish. Now no normal Ice Panther could be that dexterous, he thought, what kind of creature could this be? The Ice Panther crawled back out, carrying a large shank of smoked Artic Moose. The creature started run away and he flung his sharp boomerang, severing the panthers paw. The animal limped away, hurt but still carrying the meat."_

"Oh that poor animal! All hurt!" Ty Lee gasped.

"It was stealing meat," Sokka said gruffly.

"I wouldn't be too sorry for hurting it,"

Ty Lee, did not agree. She had worked with Panthers in the circus and thought they were sweet adorable creatures (though prone to biting or mauling when provoked) and had learned to love them dearly. To hear of one hurt, made her angry.

_"He fetched his wife to come see the animal's paw, but when they returned instead of a paw they found a wriggling human hand!_

_"We must have a wicked sorceress in the village!" his wife gasped._

"_Who could it be!"_

_Just then his neighbor ran up to them, looking pale and distressed._

"_I need you wife's healing skills, my wife's hand has been cut off and she's bleeding to death!"_

"How did she turn into a panther though?" Aang asked.

"Well, some say it was black magic…" Katara began.

"And other people say: "stop asking questions it's just a story," Sokka finished.

The siblings laughed jovially, clutching their stomach. How many times had Gran-Gran, or their mother answered their questions like that?

"Okay," Katara sighed.

"Who wants to tell the next one?"


	13. The Faces of Fire and Azulon's Secret

**Hello my lovelies**

**It's the time of year again and since I didn't finish last year, I'm gonna finish it this year! It's still slightly AU, thought I might write less Zutara in it. The following story is from _Peripheral Visions_ by Judith W. Moore and I do not own it. I added to the original story a backstory about FireLord Azulon however. I found a recollection of the story in _Weird New England _by Joseph A. Citro. Though we come from the same state, I claim no ownership.**

* * *

"I believe I would like to tell the next one," Iroh smiled, setting down another plate of cakes.

"It is a true story, about my brother and I in our younger days."

Iroh looked into the fireplace and stared at the flames, as if struggling to find the memory, though it was an experience he would never forget. He barely thought about how he and his brother used to be these days, the Ozai he knew was dead, reincarnated into a madman. Rarely, Iroh let his mind wander back to the days when he and his brother were close.

"Uncle, would you tell the story!?" Zuko prompted, impatiently.

Iroh snapped out of his reverie, the images of the boy he was chasing after a toddling baby Ozai evaporating like steam after a bath. He began to speak:

_ "Long ago, when my brother and I were vacationing with our family on Ember Island, my brother and I had gone on a hike. We stayed out exploring long into the evening. It was a windy and starless night, and it was unusually cool, the sort of rare chill before a bad storm. The two of use hurried home, taking a short cut near a cliff that jutted over the harbor. As I said, it was chilly and we wrapped up in the blanket I had brought along for our picnic…"_

Zuko snorted with laughter and disbelief. His father, going on picnics? The Terrible Ozai, going on a PICNIC?

"Are you telling me that you and my father used to go on picnics?" He chuckled.

"Of course we did. Didn't he picnic on Ember Island with you and your sister?" Iroh said reasonably.

"I always thought he did it because our mother forced him too…" Zuko said, brow still furrowed in disbelief.

"Oh no, your father enjoyed picnics, it was a little known aspect of his personality." Iroh said, looking his nephew in the eye.

"There are many things about your father that would surprise you."

Aang looked down at his cup of tea. He recalled his final battle with Ozai. He had learned the man's secrets that day, when he probed his mind. He had seen the man beneath the madness. He understood what Iroh meant.

_ "Anyway, Ozai and I wrapped ourselves in the blanket to stay warm and struggled along the path. While we walked, I told Ozai that the shortcut we were traveling along had a dark past. There was a cave on that path, where pirates had once hid smuggled contraband. At the time, it was believed that the cave was inhabited by dangerous outlaws. _

_ Usually, my brother and I would have explored the Pirate's Cave, searching for treasure and outlaws. But that night we were too tired and we just wanted to get home. _

_ As we walked past the darkened cave we saw something strange. It looked like fire. It was emerging from the blackness, coming towards us. My brother leapt into fighting stance, but I did not.  
"My brother, there is no bender behind that fire," I whispered in awe._

"_We cannot fight an adversary we cannot see,"_

"What was it?" Katara asked, her eyes wide.

"If it was not another firebender, could it have been a ghost of some sort?"

"All in good time Miss Katara," Iroh winked.

"All in good time,"

_ "Suddenly, the fireball grew larger and separated into three flaming spheres. Each sphere had a faces, with horrifying expressions. The flaming heads spouted fire at us! My brother wanted to fight back but grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. We ran as fast as our legs could carry us, the three heads following us. We didn't look back until we made it to our beach us. The heads were gone by then. That evening we told our Father and Mother what we had seen. Our mother sternly told us to never travel that path ever again, and our father explained to us why. Years before we were born, our father, Zuko's Grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon fought an Agni Kai with a rival of his near on that very cliff. He killed the man and buried him there on that mountain. The island locals were bribed into silence, because it would give the Royal Family a bad image if everyone knew the crown prince had killed a man out of passion, rather then in for the good of The Nation._

_ After our father told us the truth, he made us swear to never tell a soul of what we saw on the mountain, for he knew the three flaming heads were conjured by the dead man's angry spirit, seeking revenge,"_

Iroh closed his eyes. He had kept that story to himself for many decades. The experience had haunted him all his days, and his father's confession only added to the terror of that evening.

"You, my young companions are the first people I have ever told about the night," Iroh sighed.

"I never told my wife, or my son. It was a secret I carried with me and I imagine a secret my brother kept as well."

Everyone was silent, sipping tea and looking around the room. The silence was finally broken by Sokka.

"Well, as long as we're telling secrets, let Katara and I tell you The Water Tribe's darkest, most morbid secret that we've been hiding from the rest of the world for centuries,"


	14. The Water Tribe's Darkest Secret

**_Hello my lovelies_**

**_The following is a classic Vermont legend. As a Vermonter I am very proud to present it to you! I know my stories have MUCHO dialogue, but that's just the kind of story it is. It's a story that thrives on what the character's have to say._**

* * *

"Sokka, are you sure we should tell them?" Katara asked, anxiety creeping into her voice.

"Gran-Gran told us that we must keep it a secret from the rest of the world, that if they knew, they would think we were savages!"

"Most of the world already thinks you are," Mai said with a smirk.

"If you told us, no one would think the worst of you,"

There was a cold silence. Iroh, not wanting the evening to be marred by flying knives, ice daggers and other various object that could cause bodily harm, decided to intervene.

"Lady Mai, if you continue to insult Katara and Sokka, I will have to ask you to leave. They are friends and allies of your Fire Lord. To insult them, is to insult the Fire Lord." Iroh said in a low and even voice.

Mai looked to Zuko, who nodded in agreement.

"I agree with my uncle. All of your are my friends, I do not like to see discord between my friends. Now if you would, apologize." Zuko said.

Mai looked from Zuko, to Sokka and Katara, who stared at her with a matching set of luminous sapphire-bright eyes.

"I beg forgiveness," She muttered softly, tilting her head forward with a bow, he hands in her lap.

"Forgiven," Sokka said bluntly.

"Now, since Katara is too reluctant, I will tell you all the darkest secret of The Water Tribe,"

_ "The story I am about to tell you was told to me by my Gran Gran, who witnessed the dark event. It was shortly after she ran away to The South Pole. It was one of the coldest winters The Southern Tribe had ever faced and sure that the elderly and infirm wouldn't live through it, the tribe healers took drastic measures…"_

"They didn't kill them did they?" Ty Lee interrupted, eyes wide.

"Shh, you'll find out if you listen," Katara said, finger to his lips.

_ "Our Grandmother was to witness every moment of it, for she was to assist the healers that night. It started after the evening meal. All the elderly and infirm of the village gathered at the healer's hut, where they drank a potion that would put them into a deep sleep…"_

"Ah, sounds like the infamous Water Tribe Draught of Living Death," Iroh murmured sagely.

"It's mixed from herbs gathered and dried during the summer months, when the tundra is warm enough to bear plants. The name of the particular type of herbs used is unknown to me. I was hoping either of you would know,"

Sokka and Katara looked at each other. Then Katara spoke:

"We don't know. By the time Sokka and I were born, this ritual was out of practice, so out of all the potions Gran-Gran taught me about it's one I never knew much about, all I know is that like all of our potions it's mixed with whale blubber and seal blood,"

"I respect you culture and all, but that is really disgusting," Toph said flatly.

"Can I continue now!?" Sokka exploded. Of all his pet peeves, being interrupted while telling a story was one of the worst.

_ "Okay then. Anyway, after being given the potion, the unconscious tribe members were stripped naked, and wrapped in skins and furs from head to toe, with only their faces exposed. They were taken outside into the bitter cold and carried to a small pit carved into frozen ground. Gran-Gran watched with horror as their faces turned white. This was not a ritual practiced in the North, not at all. The sleeping tribe members were pronounced ready and lowered into the pit. Then they were covered with sealskin to keep them dry and buried in snow. The tribe's water benders were called in. The water benders formed a sheet of ice over the sleepers to protect them from predators and cold._

_ My Gran-Gran retreated to her hut, absolutely horrified by what she had just seen. It seemed barbaric to do such a thing."_

"It is barbaric!" Ty Lee cried.

"It's horrifying and cold-hearted! How could they do that!"

Everyone stared at Ty Lee (with the exception of Toph, whose eyes remained unfocused as usual). Didn't she understand? Everyone, even Aang understood that it was more humane to let the elderly sleep through such a harsh time of the year.

"Ty Lee, do calm yourself," Iroh said sitting the girl next to him.

"Here, have some tea and let me explain something to you. During Water Tribe Winters, food is scarce. By burying those who could not contribute to the tribe, they were making the winter easier for everyone. There would be less mouths to feed, and…"

"But they killed those people," Ty Lee whispered.

"You don't know that, now let Sokka finish," Iroh soothed.

_ "All winter, Gran-Gran thought about those who had been buried. It was indeed a very harsh winter, and she understood why the ritual had been performed, but her experience was still haunting her._

_ Then, when it was warm enough, when winter had gone home and the tundra began to show signs of life, it was time to wake the Sleepers. Warriors used their clubs to break the icy seal and excavate the frozen people. The healers heated seawater heated over a fire in the center of the village. Everyone chanted to the spirits, asking them to rouse their loved one from their living death. The frozen bodies were submerged in the heated seawater and massaged. Soon, their faces regained color and their muscles twitched. To Gran-Gran's surprise the sleeping tribe members revived! They were bundled in warm furs and brought to their homes, to be dressed and fed, slowly awakening from their long nap,"_

"They don't practice this ritual anymore," Katara said as her brother finished talking.

"Why, I'm not entirely sure. I think it's because winters have gotten warmer and warmer over the years. In fact it seems the entire planet is just getting hotter and hotter,"

"It has been," Iroh said.

"All the Fire Nation's industrialization has realized smoke and pollutants into the sky, and it's heating making the sun beat down harder, making the earth warm up! Soon I fear it will be so warm that the poles will melt entirely and the world will experience a great flood. And that my young companions, is scarier than any of the stories we may hear tonight, for such a catastrophe would end the world!"


	15. The Beautiful Music

**Hello my lovelies**

**Another chapter, I have to thank Joseph A. Citro for publishing a wealth of true New England horror stories for me to morph into Avatar stories! The next story is yet another from Vermont, supposedly true, having occurred in the village of Barnet.**

* * *

The silence was rather heavy. Iroh had brought up a valid and disturbing point. The Fire Nation had indeed polluted the world, very badly. Everyone had seen the evidence in their travels.

"So shall we continue story-telling?" Sokka said breaking the silence. Why was he always the first to speak, after everyone had fallen quiet? Did it make him uncomfortable? To sit in a room where no words hung in the air, lingering like a courtesan's perfume? Empty as death?

"Does anyone else have a story?" He asked.

"Ooh! I do! I do!" Ty Lee said, her voice chipper.

"It's the story of one of my ancestors, a great-aunt,"

_ "Years and years before I was born, my Grandmother had a sister named Enma. One day, Enma was planning on visiting an estate several miles from our family's. It was a long walk so her parents, my great-grandparents let her take a komodo rhinoceros to make the journey easier. How excited she was! She had never taken a journey to a neighboring estate by herself before, but now she was allowed go alone, without servants without family!_

_ As Enma rode through the forest, something strange occurred. She heard beautiful music, like none she had ever heard before! It was unearthly and beautiful, coming from all directions. She stopped in the middle the clearing and listened to the music, entranced."_

"Where was the music coming from?" Aang asked.

Ty Lee shrugged in response and continued.

_ "After a few minutes if listening to that beautiful music, she continued to her journey. When Enma arrive at her neighbors she was in a state of excitement and wonder. She told them of the music she heard and how it was the most beautiful thing she had ever had the fortune in life to encounter. Enma was a trustworthy honest young woman, and not usually given to flights of fancy…"  
_

"Unlike Ty Lee herself," Zuko whispered into Katara's ear who stifled a snicker. Mai bit back her resentment at the friendly intimacy between her object of affection and the water bender and tried to listen to Ty Lee's story. Though is was true that Ty Lee was as flighty as butterfly, she had a talent for stories.

_ "She stayed for lunch, then rushed home, eager to tell her family about the wonderful music. Hoping to hear it again, she traveled the same path she had taken earlier that day._

_ But Enma never arrived home. As twilight faded into night and she was still missing her parents formed a search party to find their daughter. They took the well-traveled trail to their neighbors house, a trail that their daughter should not have gotten lost on, calling her name relentlessly._

_ After a few hours of searching, they found Enma's Komodo Rhino. Nearby, on the side of the trail lay Enma. She was dead. _

_ There were no marks upon her body. No bruises, no cuts, no broken bones. There wasn't a single drop of blood to found on her or anywhere in the area. There were no clues as to what caused her death._

_ Later, at the girl's funeral the family's neighbors told her parents about the music that Enma had heard that fateful day and Enma's description of the clearing where she had heard the music. After hearing their neighbor's story, Enma's parent's came to a strange realization. The very spot where they had found her body, was the spot where she had heard that eerie music, on that fateful day."_

"That is just weird." Katara said as soon as Ty Lee finished.

"Where were that music coming from?"

"Nobody knows," Ty Lee shrugged.

"Most believe it was caused by spirit's. But stuff like that usually is. All I know is that my sisters and I were never allowed in those woods whenever we visited that particular estate."

"Could the music have killed her?" Toph asked.

"Like stopped her heart or stolen her breath,"

Ty Lee shrugged again. She had no idea what could have killed her great aunt all those years ago. Only that she had a secret phobia of forests because of that story.

"Nobody ever went in those woods again after that. At least no one went in alone. And nobody has ever reported hearing that music again," she said, looking into the fire, her usually bright expression dimming.

"I think perhaps that music was meant for Enma alone," Iroh suggested.

"I believe the music may have been a death omen…just like in the story I'm about to tell…"


	16. The Friendly Dog

_**Hello my lovelies**_

_**This story Is from Passing Strange by Joseph A. Citro. He collects and writes the stories, I morph them. I claim no ownership and swear my allegiance to Mr. Citro! This is based off of another New England story, this time set in Massachusetts, of course I had to change some stuff so it wouldn't be plagarism or theft.**_

* * *

"A death omen?" Aang asked, puzzled.

"But what could have killed her? There were no marks?"

"Maybe she fell off her rhino and the wounds were internal, she probably bled to death internally," Sokka said.

"Maybe she had an attack in her brain," Zuko said.

"I hear sometimes people have a blood vessel burst inside their skulls and they bleed to death."

"She was too young for a heart attack," Mai mused.

The group sat for several minutes, debating on what could have killed Enma, until Iroh gave a cough, indicating that he was about to begin his story. Everybody stopped talking, and gave their attention to the old General.

_ " A long time ago two young boys named Nobu and Hiro were playing in the grassy courtyard of their maternal grandparent's home._

_ When one of the boys happened to look up from their game, for whatever reason, they saw a big dog. Neither child had see or heard it arrive. In fact, there was no logical explanation for how the dog got into the courtyard, for a wall surrounded the entire house._

_ The boys were frightened at first, but relaxed when they realized how friendly the dog was. He was a well-groomed and healthy looking creature, but had nothing on its body to indicate ownership._

_ The family gave it food and water, and the dog made itself at home. While the adults questioned the dog's mysterious origins, they made objection, as Nobu and Hiro seemed very fond of him._

_ Soon, it came time for the boys to leave. They begged their mother if they could keep the mysterious dog. The boy's mother was apprehensive, but saw how much the boys loved the dog. She decided to take him home._

_ But the dog could not go past the gate that lead out of the grandparent's property. No matter how much the boys beckoned to him, he would not budge! It was very frustrating, seeing as the dog had been obedient all day. _

_ Seeing how disappointed their grandson were, the grandparents agreed to keep the dog on their property. The boys could visit anytime they wished to play with the dog. _

_ The next day Nobu and Hiro returned to their grandparent's home, eager to see the dog. The dog was still there and had taken a particular liking to their Grandfather. The grandfather loved the dog too, and it was noted that the dog followed the old man wherever he went. So the Grandfather and the boys spent their days playing with the friendly eager dog._

_ All seemed to go well, until a disaster struck the family! The grandfather had taken ill, with an attack of the heart. The local physician came to care for him. The entire family came to the house to stay with the grandparents. Throughout the ordeal, the dog stayed by the grandmother's side, providing her with comfort._

_ On the fourth day, the dog began to keen helplessly. Nobu and Hiro's mother checked him for wound's but found none, but he seemed upset all the same._

_ The grandmother said the dog's sadness was an omen. But how? Grandfather was on the mend, he seemed cheerful and on his way to recovery._

_ Then he took a turn for the worse. His heart seized itself worse than before and by the evening he had died. The dog howled and howled as if mourning the loss and could not be comforted. _

_ The morning of the funeral, Nobu and Hiro set out some food and water for the dog. When they returned from the temple however, the dog was gone and the food was untouched._

_ The boys and their mother searched the neighborhood and talked to everyone. A dog couldn't just disappear into thin air, it had to have been seen by someone!_

_"You won't find him," The Grandmother said, shaking her head._

"_Why not?" The mother asked. "Dogs don't just vanish! Somebody must have seen him!"_

_ "No my daughter, nobody could have seen him leave. He was a spirit. That is how he got past the courtyard wall without being seen. He was a death omen, sent to warn us of your father's death," The grandmother explained._

_ She told the mother and the boys about all the different spirits that visit the living, including spirits the come foretell death._

_ "You heard the dog wail, it knew that you father was to die before we did. He has finished its task and no longer needs to be with us. Nobody saw him arrive and nobody saw him leave, he will not be found," The grandmother explained._

_She was right. They never found the dog and they never saw him again._

_ Though I have a feeling, that somewhere else in the world, a large friendly dog has appeared out of nowhere in someone's courtyard, foretelling great tragedy."_

"Where I'm from, in Gaoling death omens appear as wild haired screaming women," Toph said, as soon as Iroh finished.

"Of course, I've never seen one, but then again I've never seen anything,"


	17. Curse of the White Death

Hello my lovelies

This story is a true story from Rhode Island that has become rather famous. Naturally I had to change some things. I don't own anything and again, I thank Mr. Citro. If you're wondering "The White Death" and "The Consumption" are the disease Tuberculosis!

* * *

The group sat discussing different death omens around the world. It seemed there were many different variations, from different regions. Mai mentioned having seen a dark robed figure shortly before her grandmother died. Katara and Sokka painfully recalled seeing a pack of pure black wolves run across the tundra at least a week before the fire nation raid that killed their mother. The wolves, Sokka explained, rose into the sky and flew towards the moon.

"We never told anyone what we saw," Katara said.

"We thought no one would believe us. Then, when Gran-Gran mentioned having seen them at the same time we saw them. Then she explained what they meant. We were so shocked and disturbed, we told her…"

Everyone looked subdued. It seemed the morbidity of the discussion was too real, because attached to every sighting of these spirits, was the painful loss of a loved one.

"Let me tell you guys a story now," Zuko said, trying to break the heavy mood.

"It's a story that I overheard on the ferry to Ba Sing Se. That evening, Uncle was sharing stories with some of the other refugees. As much as I tried to ignore their chatter, this story stuck in my head,"

_ "In the small Earth Kingdom village, there lived a man named Koji who had two daughters and a son…"_

Iroh smiled, realizing which story his nephew was about to tell.

"_One winter, his wife, Hikaru took ill with consumption, better known to all as The White Death. Within a month, she was dead._

_Soon after, his eldest daughter, Emi, showed the same symptoms as her mother…"_

"What are the symptoms?" Aang asked.

"I've never seen anyone suffer from this illness,"

"The White Death causes it's victim to cough up blood and waste away. Many believe it's caused by evil spirits," Iroh explained.

"It's less common today but for a long time it was a very dangerous epidemic,"

_ "Soon, Emi followed her mother grave, leaving Koji with one son and one daughter. In time, his son, Aki, began to show symptoms of The White Death. This was especially horrible, as Aki had always been a very healthy young man, now he was withering away!_

_To save his life, Aki left for the mountains, to a retreat where he would hopefully recover._

_ While Aki was away, his nineteen year old sister, Minako began to waste away from the disease. By early spring, her body was carried to the well-traveled path to the graveyard._

_ Aki returned, knowing he was going to die. He wanted to spend his last days with his dwindling family. As he started to fade away, his heart-broken father had come to a horrifying conclusion. His misfortune was caused by a vampire…"  
_"What's a vampire?" Katara asked.

"A vampire is a demon who inhabits the bodies of the dead." Iroh explained.

"Sometimes they feed on the blood of the living, other times, they feed on the health and vitality of the living. Either way they feed, they cause illness and death for all those around them,"

Katara and Sokka exchanged horrified looks, but did not say anything in response, noticing Zuko's growing impatience. They let him continue.

_ "The only way to find out which of his dead family members was playing host to the demonic creature, was to open their graves…"_

Zuko paused, as horrified gasps filled the room. He noted his uncle's smile of pride. Iroh had always considered story-telling to be a valuable talent, and seeing his beloved nephew carry on the tradition of trading folklore through story, made him positively puff up and swell with pride and joy.

_ "So Koji, Aki and their neighbors headed out to the cemetery, with the town physician in tow, while monks chanted prayers._

_Koji watched with horror as the graves of his mother and sisters were opened._

_The bodies of Emi and Hikaru were properly decomposed. But Minako…her body didn't seem to decompose at all! Her cheeks were rosy, he hair lustrous, in fact she was lying on her side, she had obviously moved inside her tomb…"_

More gasps and murmurs filled the room.

"_There was no doubt, Minako was the vampire! They cut open her chest, and found her heart still contained fresh blood! The heart was removed and burned atop a rock, then the bodies were re-buried._

_But the ritual did not end there, they took the ashes and mixed them in bull's blood then made Aki drink the grisly concoction…"_

"Eww that's so disgusting…"Ty Lee groaned.

"_But Aki died that summer nonetheless, despite the foul potion intended to cure him. After that, The Demon known as the White Death Never plague poor Koji again._

_But that is not the end of our tale, it is said to this day Minako's ghost haunts her grave. Those who have walked past it, report seeing a ball of light rising from her tomb, so bright it is almost a heavenly blue. No one goes near the grave, no one touches it, as if to come in contact with the her grave will curse you and your family with the dreaded White Death,"_

"How stupid can those villagers be?" Toph snapped as soon as Zuko was finished.

"Minako was the most recently deceased, of course she would be the least decomposed!"

"But she had no signs of decay at all," Zuko shot back.

"And anyway, she had turned on her side,"  
Toph gave a snort of contempt.

"I bet I could tell a much better vampire story," She challenged.

Zuko leaned over and put his lips close to her ear:

"Bring it on" he whispered.


	18. Half The Orchard

**Hello my lovelies**

**Another vampire/tuberculosis legend from Rhode Island. New Englanders used to believe any wasting disease (such as tuberculosis was caused by vampires) Thank you Mr. Citro! And since this is a year after the defeat of Ozai (though not accurate to the finale, this is slightly AU) they're all a year older than they were in the show. I had to change this story around a little bit so it would not be theft. Though I don't think I've been Avatarizing my stories as much as I thought I would. Maybe I'm a self-hating writer.**

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Zuko drew away from Toph, his challenge burning inside her left ear where he had whispered softly to her, as lover might. Her cheeks were tinted the color of cherry blossoms. She wasn't sure why she was reacting this way, she'd never really had any attraction to Zuko before…perhaps how close he had been to her, the heat of his breath caressing her cheek, the tone of his voice. She was only thirteen, that particular age where her mind and body were awash in confusing thoughts and sensations, an age where even someone she considered to be a brother to her, could spark feelings of desire in her.

"Well?" Zuko taunted.

"Where's that story?"

Toph shook herself out of her reverie and cleared her throat.

"You want a story? You got it,"

_"There was a farmer, nearby the town I grew up in who was very prosperous. He and his wife, had fourteen children who all survived into adulthood, despite the fact, that most peasant children don't live to see their fifth birthday. _

_Life seemed ideal, until one night the farmer had a terribly vivid dream about his Moon Peach Orchard. Exactly half of the trees were gnarled, twisted and dead, the sky above was dark and stormy. The farmer woke up feeling uneasy. A dream that intense and foreboding must meant something, he thought to himself. But he just wasn't sure what._

_Shortly after, the farmer's oldest daughter, Sachiko fell ill with the consumption. The farmer forgot about his dream as she grew sicker by the day. Eventually, she died and was buried in the family cemetery._

_Soon, the second daughter became sick. Shortly before her death, she complained that her dead sister Sachiko came in her room during the night. Her sister's ghost would come in through the window and press down on her chest, making breathing difficult and painful._

_The deaths continued in rapid succession. By the time their fifth child was dead and buried, the farmer began to think his dream might have been an omen. But there was another mystery. Each child that had died complained that their sister Sachiko had visited them in the night. Why would they say that?_

_ By the time the sixth child had died, the seventh child began to report the same symptoms as his dead siblings. As his condition worsened, the farmer's wife began to weaken, the cause being that her dead daughter was visiting her in the night._

_The farmer began to believe that Sachiko had become a vampire, and was killing her siblings off one by one. In order to stop the evil that was destroying his family, the farmer and the rest of the villagers all trouped to the cemetery to dig up the six bodies. The bodies were in the horrifying condition of any properly decaying corpse, except for one. Sachiko, the first to die, was perfectly preserved, in fact she did not look dead. Her hair and nails had grown, her limbs were supple and her cheeks were rosy. They made a cut on her wrist and found fresh blood in her arteries. That nailed it. Sachiko was the vampire!_

_They cut out her heart and burned it right then and there. And just to be safe, they burned the decaying hearts of the other five bodies._

_The seventh child died anyway, his illness too advanced for him to be saved. But the farmer's wife recovered and was never bothered by Sachiko again._

_When the nightmare was over, the farmer thought about the dream he had all those nights ago. It had indeed come true. The farmer and his wife had lost half of their orchard,"_

The room was silent. The fire in the hearth crackled and popped. Aang coughed softly into his hand. Then finally, Zuko spoke, defeat in his voice:

"You won, Toph. Your story was much better than mine,"


	19. Watch out for that Rock!

**Hello my lovelies**

**This story is based off a story from Cavendish Vermont and is a favorite of mine. I claim no ownership.**

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There was a murmur about the room as Zuko admitted defeat. Particularly a defeat by a pre-teen blind girl. Later, Iroh would have the royal physician check the young Fire Lord for a fever.

"So does anybody else have a story?" The old general asked?  
"Anyone at all? The night is till young and I don't know how much more of these awkward silences I can take,"

Mai cleared her throat. She had a story. It was scary, not really but it would lighten the mood. As dour as she was, all this talk of death omens and epidemics wiping out entire families was getting too depressing, even for her! She began to speak.

_"My paternal grandmother, Hanako was widely considered to be a shrew. Not a day went by that she didn't give someone in the palace, where she lived as a lady in waiting, a piece of her mind. So when she died the summer I was nine…"_

"Was this the grandmother who you saw a death omen for?" Aang interrupted.

"No, that was my maternal grandmother, she died when I was five," Mai replied with a casual shrug.

"May I continue my story now?"

"_So, when my grandmother died the summer I was nine, her funeral was very well attended. Everyone at court wanted to make sure she was really dead. My grandfather, a mousy little man sat through her funeral prayers_ _with his gaze cast at the floor. He did not want to look at my grandmother. When the temple priests said their final blessings, grandfather was the first person to leave the temple._

_The Pallbearers then lifted her funeral bier and began the slow procession to the cemetery. _

_Perhaps they were in a hurry to get my old snake of a grandmother into the ground, because the pallbearers seemed to be practically jogging to the cemetery. Then as they turned a corner, one of them tripped over a rock. His fall threw all the pallbearers of balance, and they dropped the funeral bier carrying my grandmother. He corpse fell off and lay sprawled on the road. All us mourners stood aghast as my grandmother, picked herself up, dusted herself off then asked: "What in the name of Agni are you all staring at?"_

_"So she lived another three or four years, tormenting us all until when I was thirteen, she finally died. At this funeral, everything went the same as before, but this time, my grandfather approached the pallbearers and whispered: "Now you take care not to trip over any rocks this time,""_

Mai finished her story, a small smile gracing her thin pale lips. The room was silent. Then, Iroh chuckled softly, followed by a snicker from Zuko, and a giggle from Toph. Soon, the entire room was laughing outright, there faces red, tears leaking from the corners of their eyes. Even the storyteller herself had started to laugh, a sound strange to all who knew her. The sound bubbled out of her, like opening Pandora's box.

When their fit was over, they all sat back, clutching their aching stomachs, struggling to catch their breath.

"I don't think I have laughed like that in a long time," Zuko sighed.

"And I don't think I've heard you laugh like that either, Mai. Not in a very long time,"


	20. The Delicious Liver

This will be the third Halloween I'll attempt to finish this story. Let's hope I do! Remember, read the sequel _Stories By the Fire _before you read this, to avoid confusion!

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Mai smiled softly at Zuko's comment. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed either, it seemed for the past several years all her joy had shriveled up, run dry. But on this auspicious night, those long forgotten feelings of joy began to resurface, she was for the first time in years, enjoying herself. Sure, she was having some hostile feelings towards Katara, due to the attention Zuko gave the waterbender, but she wasn't going to let it ruin her night, or upset Zuko in anyway.

"I remember that day," Zuko said, pouring tea for everyone.

"Seeing your grandmother plop out of the coffin like that. I had never see corpse, well she turned out not to be one…"

"Azula laughed and laughed" Ty Lee interrupted.

"But she managed to make all the adults around her think she was crying hysterically. I never realized until now just how insane she was,"

She went silent then, frowning at the memory, the flames from the hearth casting shadows on her normal grinning visage. Then she spoke again, shaking away the darkness that had gathered in the corners of her eyes and mouth.

"I'm going to tell the next story…"

She began:

_ "There was a man named Wang, and he loved to eat. Everyday he would temporarily close the shop where he sold pottery and other fine things and go home to a large lunch cooked by his wife Mingmei._

_ Mingmei was a shy woman, who was frightened of Wang. Besides being a glutton, he was a bully. If something was not to his liking, or if he became angry he would often hit his wife._

_One day, he after closing his shop, he went to the butcher and picked up a pound of liver…"_

"This is just another version of _Dingbang The Liver Thief_," Toph scoffed.

"I've never heard that one, so I wouldn't know" Ty Lee replied, rolling her eyes.

_ "Anyway, liver was Wang's very favorite food and his wife, as much as he hated her, was a superb cook. No one cooked liver like she did._

_Her presented her with the liver, demanding she make it for supper that night. Then he sat down to lunch._

_ As he ate, Mingmei told him an old woman in their neighborhood had died and her body was on display in the temple for anyone who wanted to see it. Wang didn't listen of course, he was so busy shoving food in his face._

_ After her left, Mingmei began her special method of cooking living. While most people stir-fried liver, she would season it with herbs and spices, and let it simmer for hours in a pot with vegetables. It created a flavor that was like no other in the world. _

_ When she the liver was done, she cut off a small piece and tasted it. It was delicious, the best she had ever made. She tasted a second piece. Before she knew it, she had eaten the entire liver! When she saw what she had done, she began to panic. What would Wang do if she told him she had eaten all the liver? Most men would laugh, but not her husband! Wang would be angry, he would become violent and he would beat her. She did not want to face another beating at the hands of her husband. _

_ Where would she find another liver? If she went to the market, someone would see her and tell her husband, Wang himself might see her. Her frightened mind began to search for a solution, where could she find a liver? Then, a horrible thought formed in her mind. The temple just next door, the old woman's body unsupervised in the temple…_

_That evening, Wang couldn't get enough liver. It was simply the best his wife had ever made!_

_"This is amazing Mingmei!" he exclaimed as he ate._

"_Your best yet! Why don't you have some?"_

_"I'm not hungry," Mingmei said, truthfully, watching with disgust as her husband devoured the old woman's liver._

_That night, Mingmei was startled out of her sleep by strange voice._

_"Who has my liver…who has my liverrrrr" the voice called._

_ Mingmei realized with horror that the old woman had come back to reclaim her liver! Terror filled her heart as the voice grew closer and closer._

_"Who has my liver? Whoooo? Whooo?"_

_The voice was at the foot of their bed._

"_Who has my liver?" The voice called again._

_"HE HAS IT!" Mingmei screamed, pointing at her husband._

_ The voice stopped then. The only sounds now was the sound of flesh being torn, and the sound of Wang's bloodcurdling screams,"_

"She placed the blame on her husband?" Katara balked when Ty Lee finished speaking.

"He was a jerk, he kind of deserved it," Ty Lee reasoned.

"Anyway, he _did _have the liver. He had eaten it."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. It was unanimous, Wang had eaten the liver so technically he did have, what's more, he mistreated his wife and she had gotten her revenge.

"I wonder what happened to Mingmei," Aang mused.

"I imagine she went insane from the sound of her husband being murdered so brutally," Toph shrugged.

"Hey, Bendy and Gloomy have never heard my Liver Story!"

Without hesitation, Toph began to tell her story:  
_"A long time ago there was an Earthbending boy named Dingbang…"_


	21. Rings on Her Fingers

**It has been a VERY long time, but I've decided to bring this back. I'll add a chapter as often as a can throughout the next month, finishing when I get to 31 stories, one for each day in October. Remember guys, read Stories by the Fire. This is only the sequel. I cannot stress that enough! This chapter's story I modified slightly. The original is from **_**The Scary Stories To Tell in The Dark**_** Series and inspired by commonplace events and fears in 19****th**** century England. I might also point out that since I haven't worked on this in awhile, some of my writing style may be a tad different.**

* * *

_"And from that day on, all of Dingbang's children and grandchildren were born without livers" _

Toph finished her story with a smirk. Throughout the story, she could feel everyone's fear, their hearts racing, and their breath quickening. Either that or Zuko had taken off his shirt.

"That _was _good," Ty Lee said.

"Though, the ending to mine is better."

After some heated debate as to which story was scarier, Aang announced that he would tell the next story:

"_Zhen Fang had an strange illness that made her faint. One day, she fainted and did not wake up. She stayed asleep for many months._

_One sad autumn day, Zhen Fang died, leaving her husband bereft. He had her washed, then dressed in her finest clothes and the few jewels she owned. After the funeral, she was buried in the little graveyard just outside of town._

"_May she rest in peace," Everyone said._

_But there was someone who would not let her rest. That night, a grave robber crept into the cemetery. He had heard that a woman had been buried wearing diamond and ruby rings. He planned to exhume her body, take the rings and sell them in Ba Sing Se._

_The first part was easy, since the Grave Robber was an Earthbender, he could bend all the dirt out of the grave. Next, he pushed her coffin out of the grave using the earth underneath it. Then he pried the wooden lid off and unwrapped her shroud._

_There, encircling her pale fingers were the rings. The first was a gold and diamond ring, the second a ring with a large glowing ruby. The gems winked at him in the light of his lantern. _

_ He went to pull off the diamond ring first, but it was stuck tight. No matter, he could just cut the entire finger off and take the ring…"_

Ty Lee and Katara punctuated the story with a few noises of shock and disgust, but Aang kept talking.

"_He took out his knife and began to saw into her finger. He did not expect it to bleed. Nor did he expect the corpse to awaken from what was supposed to be her eternal slumber! _

_ Zhen Fang sat up in her coffin, understandably confused. The shock of the cold air and the knife on her finger had somehow brought her out of her coma._

_ "Who are you?" she asked, as she wrapped herself in her shroud._

_To see this 'corpse' speak and move frightened the Grave Robber so badly that he attempted to flee, but in his panic he knocked over his own lamp, plunging himself into darkness. Unable to see where he was going he stumbled into the open grave and accidentally stabbed himself with his own dagger._

_On shaky legs, Zhen Fang turned away from her open grave to leave the graveyard. While she walked home, her grave robber bled to death"_

"You still can't tell a scary story," Toph sighed.

"The only thing I got out of this was a lesson in grave robbing,"


	22. Hu Cheng's Wives

**Bonjour, y'all! Do you folks have any idea how hard it is finding scary stories to Avatarize? It's like reasoning with Sarah Palin. OK, I exaggerate, it's not **_**impossible**_**. But here's another chapter. It's based off of a supposedly true event that occurred in Manchester, Vermont during the 1790's. I took a few artistic liberties. I thank Joseph A. Citro and Thomas D'Agostino for their delightful books on local legends. If you want to keep my muse alive, feed it reviews. It lives on reviews. And Goldfish crackers. As always, I own absolutely nothing. Except for my pants. Those are mine.**

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"Really, Toph," Katara scoffed.

"What exactly have you learned about grave robbing?"

"Well," Toph began, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"First of all, keep track of where you put your lantern, (not that I need one of course). Secondly, instead of using a knife to cut off some corpse's fingers, use some sesame oil to get the ring to slip off. And finally…if your victim wakes up, knock over the head to send them back to their eternal sleep,"

Everyone chuckled softly, as much from the awkwardness of her disturbing statement as from the twisted humor of it. Those knew Toph well, were aware of that she had a rather crude and, at times, dark outlook on life combined with a rather sick sense of humor. And while Mai and Ty Lee were not greatly acquainted with her, they were not overly discomfited by her words. After all, they had been friends with Azula, and had heard much more appalling things come from the Fire Princess' poisonous lips.

"Well," Iroh said, pouring some spiced tea for everyone.

"Now that Sifu Toph has imparted upon us a fine lesson regarding the art of grave-robbing, I think I would like to tell another story. I think another legend surrounding The White Death, might be suitable…"

"Forgive me for interrupting Iroh, but before tonight, Sokka and I had never heard of The White Death, in fact, we've never had anyone come down with it in the South Pole," Katara said.

"I've never seen anyone suffer from it either," Aang added.

"Even though we traveled everywhere, the Air Nomads never seemed to get sick,"

"To answer your questions, The White Death is common in highly populated parts of the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. It wouldn't be terribly common in isolated places like the South Pole. The illness breeds in crowded, poverty stricken slums, mostly, though physicians aren't sure why. As for the Air Nomads, they hardly ever got sick, due to their lifestyle. They ate well, meditated, and took care of themselves. You should know that Aang, the Air Nomads were the healthiest people." Iroh replied, sagely. Such a smart man, our Iroh.

"But ah, enough history lessons for now, my friends. Tonight is a night for enjoyment, and I would like to tell you another story, about The White Death…"

"_Many years ago, when I was a boy, there lived a Fire Nation Captain named Hu Cheng. In early spring, he married a beautiful and vigorous noblewoman named Jiao Feng. For the first few months of their marriage, they were very happy. Then, suddenly, Jiao Feng took ill with consumption, The White Death, and her health began to decline swiftly. How horrible it was for Hu Cheng, to watch his beloved new bride waste away to nothing, coughing up blood and become whiter than new parchment. After weeks of suffering, she finally died on a snowy day in early winter. The couple had only been wed for eleven months._

_ But life must go on for a Fire Nation man, and a man must provide heirs, so several months after his bereavement, Hu Cheng married again. His second wife was another beautiful and healthy young woman, this time named Ju Hong. _

_ But their happiness and good fortune was not to last, for shortly after their wedding, poor Ju Hong began to show the symptoms of consumption, the very same affliction that killed Jiao Feng. Poor Hu Cheng! He couldn't bear to watch another wife suffer and die!_

_ But just when all hope seemed lost, his venerable mother came to him and said:_

'_My son, don't you see what is happening? The spirit of your first wife is returning from the grave to drain the life out of Ju Hong. But don't fret, for there is a special ritual that can be done, that just may save her life…"_

"They're going to dig up Jiao Feng," Sokka blurted out.

"Just like in Zuko's story, and Toph's story. They're going to dig up her body, and cut out her organs…"

"Quiet!" Zuko hissed.

"Let my uncle finish his story, when he is finished, then you may compare the similarities of our tales,"

Cowed, Sokka bowed his head in apology, to both Iroh and Zuko. Then he furtively nibbled at some candied orange peels that had been lingering in front of him. Unperturbed by the interruption, Iroh continued.

"_Sokka is indeed correct, for the ritual required to save Ju Hong involved the exact same ritual performed on Minako, and Sachiko. The gruesome practice was a common occurrence in my boyhood, for people were ignorant and rather barbaric in those days. Today, when consumption decimates a family, Fire Sages and priests only say prayers, but in those days, holy men took on a more hands on approach…_

_ Where were we? Ahh yes, Hu Cheng, the ailing Ju Hong and their entire family went out to the graveyard where Jiao Feng was buried. There, they dug up her grave. By this point, she had been buried for some time, and was rather decomposed. But this did not deter them from thinking she was a vampire, and in desperation, they cut out her decaying heart, lungs and liver and had a Fire Sage burn them, and say a prayer._

_ It is unknown whether or not they made Ju Hong consume the first wife's ashes, but regardless, the grisly ceremony did not work. Within months, the poor girl had succumbed to her illness and had been buried alongside Jiao Feng. Hu Cheng never married again, afraid that he'd lose another wife to the dreaded curse known as the White Death."_

Now silent, Iroh gently sipped his tea. All that talking made his throat awfully dry. But the night was still young, and he knew he and his companions, would have many more stories to share…


	23. Wonderful Dumplings

**I own nothing, and I make no profit from these fanfictions. That children, is called Copyright Infringement, and is frowned upon in most societies. This story is based loosely off of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark tale called 'Wonderful Sausage'. But instead of sausages, we're going with dumplings. Because, it's more Avatar-ish that sausages. It's also vaguely inspired by an actual thing that happened in China in the early 1990's. If you want to know more about my inspirations, just ask!**

* * *

Shortly after Iroh's story, Aang called time out for a bathroom break and a chance to stretch his legs. Since they had spent the last few hours drinking cup after cup of tea and sitting on cushions, everyone enthusiastically agreed.

After bladders had been emptied, muscles revived and pins and needles shaken from sleeping feet, everyone came back to their respective cushions. Katara volunteered to tell the next story, explaining it was one she'd heard from The Duke when they were hiding in the Western Air Temple, right before the final battle.

_"In the city of Ba Sing Se, there was a restaurant owner who made the best dumplings in all the Earth Kingdom. He was a talented chef, adding the perfect seasonings and cooking everything just right, but he had a terrible temper. He was known to scream abuse at anyone, his employees, merchants who tried to cheat him, but his poor wife received the brunt of his rage. _

_ One day he and his wife got into an argument about money. The Butcher became so angry that bashed her skull open and killed her. Afterwards, he became afraid. What would he do with the body?"_

"I think I know what he's going to do…" Toph drawled, biting into a pork and leek dumpling.

_"Acting quickly, he chopped up his wife's body, and buried her bones under a rock in the garden. Then he ground up her flesh, mixed it with some pork, and seasoned it with his secret spice blend. Then he stuffed the meat filling into some dough and fried up a fresh batch of dumplings. He sold them to customers, calling them his 'Special Spicy Dumplings'._

_ The dumplings were insanely popular. The people of Ba Sing Se demanded more of them! So The Chef started raising his own hogs, fired all his employees and began to look for prime specimens to add the special flavor to his dumplings. _

_ One day, a plump little music tutor came to his restaurant. Into his grinder she went, and dumplings she became. Another time, he lured a chubby young chef into his kitchen with promises of employment, he became a batch of dumplings, as well. Soon, stray animals on the streets began to go missing, people's pets too. Then, slowly, local children began to disappear. But no one suspected The Chef, or his delicious dumplings._

_ One day, however, he made a mistake. A plump little boy had come into the dumpling shop. The Chef tried to drag him into the kitchen, but the boy got away and ran into the street screaming. Foolishly, The Chef followed him, brandishing his big meat cleaver. _

_ Finally, everyone realized what was going on, what had happened to all the missing animals, all the missing people, the children especially. They surrounded The Chef, shouting and crying for revenge._

_ No one knows what happened to The Chef that day. Some say the mob threw him into his meat grinder. Others say they fed him to his hogs. But he was never seen again, and neither were his wonderful dumplings."_

When Katara finished, there was an uneasy silence. She'd gotten that story from The Duke? She'd gotten that disgusting, disturbing story from such a small boy?

"I've lost my appetite," Sokka said, pushing away the platter of dumplings.

The entire room gasped, then fell silent. Sokka, lose his appetite? Sokka? The guy who once ate an entire suckling Turkeypig and five bowls of spicy noodles in one sitting and was still hungry? Sokka? The guy once claimed he'd 'try anything once'?

"Katara!" Iroh finally exclaimed.

"Not only are you a master waterbender, but you're clearly a master storyteller as well! For only one truly adept at the art of story telling could put Sokka off of food!"


	24. The Slave Girl

**A reviewer recently complained about all the ghosts in these stories being women. Random Reader, I don't know why guys don't do more haunting, maybe they're lazy or something. But if you're really so offended by the unintentional gender inequality of my stories (and it's not like I purposely made female ghosts and victims. It's the original sources of the stories that are doing that), I can certainly do my research and find you some stories with ghosts of the male persuasion. But for now, do enjoy yet another story, featuring, you guessed it, a **_**female**_** ghost. I gathered this chapter's tale from Ghosts of the Northeast by David J. Pitkin. I claim no ownership, seeing as it's a local legend that he himself collected. Also, I can't remember the Avatar equivalent of a cow, so I made one up.**

Sokka's trauma-induced appetite loss must have been temporary, since he was now stuffing his face with the very same dumplings he had pushed aside in disgust, not a few moments ago.

"I thought you'd last your appetite!" Katara teased, watching her brother chew frantically.

"I got over it," He said quickly, his mouth bursting with food.

"Who wants to tell the next one?"

"I've got a good one," Toph volunteered.

"It's an old legend from Gaoling, my parents never wanted me to hear it, but one of the maids told me anyway. The maids were always telling me the stories my parents never wanted me to know about…"

"_About 200 years ago, there was a wealthy farmer named Ryuichi. He owned many slaves, mostly poor villagers who could not pay off their debts; they kept his large farm running. One of these slaves was a young woman named Joo-Eun. She was a proud young woman, who worked for Ryuichi in order to pay off her family's debts. She agreed to remain his slave for seven whole years, but she quickly became tired of the backbreaking work and harsh conditions that came with slavery. After a few months, she ran away, hoping to join her boyfriend in a small village not far from Gaoling. From there, the two planned to go to Ba Sing Se and make their fortune._

_ Ryuichi caught her several miles outside of Gaoling. He secured her hands with some rough rope and then tied her to his ostrich horse's tail. He mounted the animal and rode away at a break neck speed. Poor Joo-Eun tried to keep up, but she eventually stumbled and fell. Then, her head slammed into a large rock, and she was killed instantly. Ryuichi didn't realize she was dead until he arrived home, and found her battered, bloody body still attached to the ostrich horse. _

_ The townspeople were outraged at Ryuichi's treatment of Joo-Eun. They took him before the magistrate, who declared him guilty. But because of his wealth and high position in society, they could not sentence him to death. So instead, they forced him to wear a noose around his neck, using the same bloodstained rope that he had used to tie up his slave girl. He would wear that bloody noose for the rest of his days, as a constant reminder of his cruelty. _

_The scene of Joo-Eun's death terrified the people of Gaoling and the surrounding villages. People traveling on that road during the daytime, saw the apparition of a huge ostrich horse, snorting smoke and dragging a screaming, bloody corpse. At night, those unlucky enough to be out on that road saw a moaning and weeping skeleton being dragged by a spectral ostrich horse. Many also saw Joo-Eun, sitting on an overhanging rock, with lit candles on each finger, singing in a disturbing voice._

_While these hauntings went on, Ryuichi became a recluse, shunned by all that knew him. He continued to wear that noose, tormented by his guilt. Each night, he'd look out the window, expecting to see Joo-Eun, but instead all he saw was a ghostly white dog, one that looked exactly like the dog that Joo-Eun had owned before she became a slave. The dog would howl and howl, but whenever Ryuichi sent someone to silence it, the dog would vanish. Joo-Eun's favorite buffalo cow refused to give milk, and lay moaning as if with grief in the fields. Years passed, and the hauntings went on and on. Finally, at the ripe old age of 101, Ryuichi finally died._

_To this day, people still avoid the road where Joo-Eun died, still claiming to see the grisly reenactment of the night her life came to a tragic end,"_

Now finished, Toph waited for the question she'd been expecting since she started to tell the story. It was Aang who delivered, asking her:

"Why didn't your parents want you to hear this story? Because it was too scary or something?"

She sighed. That was factor, but it wasn't the main reason the kept the gruesome legend a secret from their only child.

"No. That's not why. While they didn't like it when I heard anything disturbing or scary, that's not why they hid this story from me," She said softly.

"The Bei Fong family is very distantly related to Ryuichi. I think his sister married a Bei Fong or something. But as distant as this blood tie is, it's enough for my parents to be ashamed, because of how famous Ryuichi became for his cruelty. So they hid the truth from me, the same way that they had hidden me from the world."


	25. The Tundra, or A Water Tribe Creepypasta

**Well here we go, another chapter. This chapter and some future chapters are going to have stories based off of the popular internet meme known as creepypasta. Creepypasta often consists of either short or long stories of a rather disturbing nature. They seem to have originated on 4-Chan's /x/ board. Any creepypastas I use, will have minor details changed to the story, mainly for reasons of artistic liberty, and to avoid the plagiarism plague.**

* * *

As soon as Toph finished speaking, before anyone could let the gravity of her words sink in, Sokka jumped to his feet, and brandishing a finger about the room, began to shout vehemently:

"No! Don't even think about it! We're not going to have another awkward silence in this room! It's been happening all night! And it happened last year! Someone says something serious, and then everyone goes silent and looks around at each other. _Theeeeen, _someone says something meaningful, regarding the situation and we all have a special moment, and everyone feels closer to each other and I…I die a little inside!"

And then there really was an awkward silence, which was broken by Zuko and Toph chuckling, and quite soon everyone was laughing.

"You die a little inside, Sokka?" Katara snorted, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.

"Well…I exaggerated a bit about that…" he said sheepishly.

"But, tell you what, let me tell the next story…"

"_In our village, it's believed that there is a certain stretch of tundra that contains benevolent spirits. The spirits can grant insight and warning to whoever visits them at night, when the sun is entirely gone, and the sky is as black as ink. It's a right of passage in our village to be sent there, on the eve of your 18th birthday. Betrothed couples also visit on the night before their wedding, in order to predict whether or not their union will be a success or not. The elders also often go out to this place in order to speak to the spirits, especially if they're ailing._

_ When I was a baby, shortly after our mom found out she was pregnant with Katara, a young waterbender from the North that had heard of our special tundra. He was intrigued, and wanted to see and communicate with these spirits for himself. So he traveled all the way to the South Pole, and took one of our sleds out to the tundra where he waited for a vision._

_ The reason I know the details of this incident, is because after the fact he related it to the village elders._

_ He waited for hours, bundles into his parka, sitting on the sled, wondering if perhaps, the spirits were nothing more than old legends._

_ He heard the spirit before he saw it, it sneaked up on him, footsteps crunching in the snow, shattering the silence. Startled, he jumped off the sled and spun around to face it. Before him, stood a shrunken, hunched man with gray skin. Sunken, yellow eyes stared at him miserably, set inside a skull from which sprouted sparse, greasy hair. His breathing was labored, and rattled his ribcage with each shaky breath and one of his arms looked mangled, as if it had been broken, and badly set. He had marred, badly splayed legs, and sores on his flesh. He stared at the young man, wheezing, and hacking. Finally, whatever it was vanished into thin air._

_ The Waterbender searched for the sickly man, but he was gone, except for a pair of bloody footprints. Terrified, he hopped back onto the sled and raced back into the village, where the elders were waiting for him._

_ As soon as he returned, he got off the sled and starting screaming at the elders:_

_ "What is so benevolent about these spirits? What is so great about them? How in the name of Tui and La are they supposed to help people?" _

_ Seeing the fear in the Waterbender's face, one of them asked:_

_ "What did you see?"_

"_I saw man, horribly sick and disfigured! It was awful!" He screamed._

_When he saw the elders step away from him and turn pale. Frightened by their reaction, he cried out:_

_ "Why do you back away? What does this all mean?"_

"_The spirits show only one thing." An Elder explained._

"_They show their visitors. A year into the future,"_

Sokka, leaned back, surveyed the disturbed expression on his friend's faces. Now this, this was a silence he could savor. Not the awkward silence brought on by a serious comment, but the shocked silence brought on by fear.


	26. A Night in the Graveyard

**This chapter's story is based off of one I just heard on a TV program called Haunted Hotels. I don't own anything, and naturally, it is based off of a true story. I changed a few details. If you have any opinion on the story whatsoever, please, write me a review. I don't own anything, so I don't make any money, so all I have are your reviews. And to those inquiring after my grandmother, she is fine. She's dead, but otherwise, she's just fine.**

* * *

"Do you think, Sokka, that sometime I might be able to visit this tundra?" Iroh asked, mildly, as if inquiring after the time of day.

"I wouldn't mind seeing it either," Zuko added.

"Out of curiosity of course, not because I want to know anything in particular…" If anyone saw his face color slightly, no one mentioned it. Whatever was going on in Zuko's head was his business.

Ty Lee, Aang and even Mai all agreed that they too would like to see this tundra, though whether out of curiosity or an actual desire to communicate with the spirits, Sokka did not know.

"Why don't you want to visit the tundra, Toph?" He asked his earthbending companion, noticing that she had not voiced any interest in the unusual stretch of land.

"Really Sokka? Really? After all this time, you're still asking those kinds of questions?" Toph asked, her voice dripping with sarcastic disbelief. Sokka always seemed to forget she was blind. It didn't bother her too much, she figured it meant that he saw her, and not her 'handicap'. Or it meant that Sokka really was a bit of a moron and actually did forget she was blind once and awhile.

"How will the spirits show me my future if I can't see, huh? I'm blind, remember?"

Sokka slapped his forehead. He always seemed to forget Toph was blind. It never seemed to be that important for some reason, perhaps because Sokka was quite aware that her lack of sight was by no means a handicap. But there were also days when he quite genuinely forgot.

"Right, Sorry Toph." He muttered.

"Well anyway, before we have another awkward silence, would anyone like to tell the next story?"

Surprisingly, Mai volunteered. She'd only told two stories, and with the exception of a few less than polite comments, had mostly kept quiet. She had felt uneasy most of the evening, but after a few cups of Iroh's special Spiced Harvest Tea, she was starting to relax. Now she wanted to tell a story.

_"This is a story frequently told to first year students at the Royal Fire Nation Academy for Girls. I suppose it was meant to scare us into behaving, but it never really worked on any of us, except Azula. For you see, the story features one of her greatest fears…"_

"What is she so afraid of?" Sokka interrupted.

"She seemed pretty fearless when we fought her,"

"Shut up, Sokka. I want to hear this," Katara hissed.

Mai's face twitched in surprise. She did not expect Katara to be so interested in anything she had to say, especially after how rude she had been earlier that evening. But she didn't say anything about it now, it would have to wait.

_"Roughly fifty years ago, there was a girl named Ayako. Her mother was a noblewoman who had become widowed. She doted on her only daughter, and let her do as she pleased. Ayako's favorite way to pass the time was to practice her firebending outside in the gardens or in the forests surrounding their estate. She grew to love nature in all it's forms and even when she wasn't practicing, she could be found playing outside, or simply meditating. _

_ When Ayako was nine, her mother remarried. Her new stepfather did not enjoy the idea of raising another man's child, so he sent her to the Royal Fire Nation Academy for Girls. For the young girl, this was torture, for not only was she away from home, separated from her mother and her gardens, but she also wasn't allowed outside very often. To make matters worse, her instructors her very strict._

_ One day, when her penmanship instructor had left the room for a moment, she sneaked out of the school, and made for a nearby forest. But she'd made a foolish mistake. When she ran out of the school, she had dropped her distinctive red silk kerchief, (with her initials embroidered in gold) onto the ground. Her instructor, a very strict man named Fumio, found the kerchief on the courtyard stones. He had a very good idea as to where she had escaped, after all when Ayako entered the Academy, her mother had warned all the teachers just what a wild child she was. So he followed the dusty trail of little footprints, which led to one red silk slipper, and then another. At the end of the trail, he found Ayako, laying under a tree, making chains out of Fire Lilies. Enraged, Fumio threw her shoes and her kerchief at her, and demanded to know just what she thought she was doing._

_ "I wanted to go outside!" She said, tears coming to her eyes._

"_I thought I'd die if I didn't get some fresh air!"_

_ "Fresh air? Fresh air! I'll give you your fresh air, you little brat!" He screamed. _

_ He dragged her, kicking and screaming to a nearby cemetery, where Academy Faculty, and sometimes students, would be buried when they died. Taking some rope, he tied her to a glossy black gravestone, where he decided he would leave her for an entire night, as her punishment for running away._

_ "Here's your fresh air!" he roared, leaving the terrified girl for the evening. If she thought a day without going outside was bad, wait until she spent the entire night in the graveyard!_

_ Ayako sat in that cemetery for the rest of the afternoon. She was too scared to use her bending to burn the ropes and set herself free. After all, what if Sifu Fumio caught, and punished her with something even worse? By the time night fell, it was much too cold for her to bend. It was a chilly fall night, and no matter how hard she tried, she simply could not produce any flames. Instead, she sat for hours on end, looking around fearfully, waiting for demons or ghouls to come and get her. Every sound made her jump. It seemed the night would never end._

_ Suddenly, she saw a light floating through the cemetery! Convinced that it was a ghost she began to scream hysterically, and finally, she fainted with pure terror. _

_ But it was not a ghost, it was merely a servant, taking a shortcut to the cemetery, using a paper lantern to guide their way. This servant heard the girls screams and came running to the gravestone, where he found Ayako, white as milk and unconscious. Shocked, he cut her free from her bonds and picked her up, rescuing her._

_ So, Ayako survived her horrifying night in the cemetery. But she was never quite the same, afterwards. She had transformed that night, from a carefree, happy girl, to a nervous and frail young woman, who trusted no one, and would never venture outside again. Her studies suffered and she was eventually sent back home, where her mother cared for her until the died at the relatively young age of thirty, her life forever destroyed. _

_ But the story doesn't end there. After her death, students began to notice strange things happening in the dormitories. Things got moved around, and they could often see a sad-eyed girl who would stare reproachfully, then vanish. Soon, students began to tell her story, for it had become quite a scandal after it had happened. It became a warning, never sneak out of the school, unless you wanted to be similarly punished,"_

Mai finished her story, and waited for the usual barrage of questions and comments. By Agni, this gang was a talkative bunch. Finally, someone, Katara, asked:

"What part of this story scared Azula the most?"

Mai smiled, grimly. Surely everyone would be expecting her to say that it was Ayako losing her bending due to the cold, but that wasn't it. It was…

"The graveyard. Azula has always been terrified of graveyards. And the thought of being in one at night? Forget it, mention such a thing and you can see her skin crawl. She has no problem with seeing someone die, or attending the funeral rites, but once she's in the cemetery, she gets uneasy. No one knows why she's so frightened either. She hides the fear well, she always has, but those who know her best, know that if you ever want to freak her out, just lead her into or near a graveyard. Do that, and she loses her cool," Mai told them bluntly.

After everyone had contemplated this bizarre new fact about their old nemesis, Toph opened her mouth, gleefully quipping:

"Then perhaps we should fought more battles with her in cemeteries. Maybe she wouldn't have kicked our asses so often."


End file.
